Going forwards by eating backwards

Bacon chocolate chip cookies and cats

I’ve been a wee bit quite lately. I know but there really is a good reason. It all started on April 11th. My beloved Siamese, Monet, died in my arms after getting hit by a car. It was tragic. This event happened closely on the heels of my older cat Lilly, also a Siamese mix, dying of bone cancer. I was crushed and didn’t want any more cats for a while……. I thought.

Monet, in the garden

It was the first time in over 20 years there had been no pitter patter of little furry feet in the house. I thought I could get over it since I wanted to be free to travel and not have a potty box in the house. These were great ideas but the reality was I missed having a cat. After much deliberation and chewing of cud, I decided I would foster some kittens for our amazing local shelter-less animal shelter, “United Paws.” That way I could get my fix and then I could adopt them out. It was a good plan….. I thought.

I went down to the rescue center to pick up a litter of 5 week old feral kittens that had been trapped with their mother. The mother had been spayed and returned to the barn and the kittens kept to be socialized and adopted out. As I was at filling out the paperwork for the kittens, a cat was meowing at the back of my head in the cage behind me, with great intent. I said to myself “don’t turn around, don’t turn around”. I felt a tugging at my bun and then I took one little peek, that won’t hurt…. I thought.

There I gazed into the golden eyes of the sweetest kitty. He was 5 months old and had been dumped out on a country road for unknown reasons. He locked eyes with me and let me know I was not leaving without him. I picked him up and he cuddled into that broken place in my heart and filled it with warm purrs and kisses. So Bodhi came home with me and a crate full of 4 frightened tiny kittens. No problem, I’ve got this, I’ll find homes for them all….I thought.

Bodhi in his classic pose. Looks like a good cat for a cavewoman huh?

Needless to say, Bodhi is now our new addition to the house. He was not claimed so we adopted him. He is a wonderful, fun and loving cat with the loudest purr you have ever heard! So purrfect for us. We can tell he was loved and held so much by someone. How could they let him go much less dump him? We will never know but their loss was our gain… this I know.

The 4 kittens needed a ton of socializing and lots of potty box cleaning and room cleaning and feeding and….. I tell you! I didn’t know what I was getting into! They blossomed under lots of love and good food and turned into loving silly kittens. United Paws found fantastic homes for 3 of them and we kept one of them (Willow) to be a playmate with Bodhi and romp through the house. (Which they are doing right now) Now we have a full happy house with little furry feet pitter pattering all over. I decided traveling is over rated and potty boxes aren’t really that hard to clean.

Miss Willow wisp

So making a short story, long, I will not be fostering anymore cats for obvious reasons. I will continue to volunteer for United Paws answering the hotline and working at adoptathons but I have learned I’m have a soft heart and can’t say no to these little creatures. I have also learned that United Paws is filled with loving volunteers that give endlessly for the less fortunate cats of Tillamook County Oregon. If you have a few extra nickels or some time, please give too.

In all the hub bub and cat fur I still managed to keep up with my resolution to use my cookbooks and start cooking from them. I got completely hooked on “infamous” bacon chocolate chip cookies from the cookbook “Make it Paleo”. If you haven’t got this cookbook you have got to fix that and adopt one, I mean buy one. It is one of my favorite paleo cookbooks of all times! The pictures are luscious and every single recipe that I have made from it is delicious! I’m impressed. (This cookbook is authored by the same folks that did “Gather”)

I am sharing this recipe against my better judgment; you are going to love these! You are going to get hooked, just like me. You won’t be able to stop making them. I took a batch of these cookies to a summer BBQ and everyone swooned over them. (They didn’t even know they were paleo!) They were the first cookies to disappear and I got many requests for the recipe. If I was going to hold a bake sale for all the lost and homeless pets of the world, these would be the first cookies I’d bake. So bake some cookies and volunteer somewhere meaningful and you have the recipe for true happiness.

Heat up the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the bacon slices in the maple syrup in a medium sized bowl. Lay the bacon on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or so till done but not super crispy. (Believe me, use parchment paper for this part! I didn’t once and I had to get out a chisel to get the pan clean!) Take the bacon out of the oven (Leave the oven on)and resist! Do not eat the bacon! Allow it to cool and then crumble it up. (I chop mine, seems easier)

Combine the dry ingredients into a medium bowl, and whisk until nice a fluffy and well blended. In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and blend until well mixed. Slowly add the coconut oil while the mixer is going till well blended. Now add the dry ingredients, one cup at a time, to the wet ingredients, while mixing till just barely mixed. Hand fold in the chocolate chips and bacon bits.

Drop the cookie batter onto a well-greased cookie sheet, about a tablespoon in size. Bake these little nuggets for 10-15 minutes till just barely done but not underdone. Do not overcook or the almond flour turns to dust. Blah. If you undercook they fall apart. I’ve tried all ways and the best is just until they are brown and firm in the center. Purrfect. Cool on a cooling rack and try to leave some for other people to try, okay?